The good thing is that there are two glaring problems with BB10 that Windows Phone could exploit that gives Microsoft a chance. One, the bezel swiping gestures lead to BB10 phones with relatively large bezels and consumers like bezel-less phones. Or at least anything 4.7 inches or above need to be bezel-less and the Nokia Lumia 920 really, REALLY could have used this. Two, BB10 doesn't exactly promote a healthy software update cycle. It is way WAY more complex than IOS and RIM took FOREVER to fine tune it's first iteration of BB10. So considering Apple has way more staff that concentrates strictly on software and they still take a whole year to tune up such a simple OS, just imagine how long it would take RIM to tune up BB11. Unless RIM makes enough money off BB10 to triple their staff, Microsoft might be able to release WP10 before BB11 comes out.

The good thing is that there are two glaring problems with BB10 that Windows Phone could exploit that gives Microsoft a chance. One, the bezel swiping gestures lead to BB10 phones with relatively large bezels and consumers like bezel-less phones. Or at least anything 4.7 inches or above need to be bezel-less and the Nokia Lumia 920 really, REALLY could have used this. Two, BB10 doesn't exactly promote a healthy software update cycle. It is way WAY more complex than IOS and RIM took FOREVER to fine tune it's first iteration of BB10. So considering Apple has way more staff that concentrates strictly on software and they still take a whole year to tune up such a simple OS, just imagine how long it would take RIM to tune up BB11. Unless RIM makes enough money off BB10 to triple their staff, Microsoft might be able to release WP10 before BB11 comes out.

BlackBerry has not only staff dedicated to tune up for BB11.. they have their own subsidiary, QNX dedicated only to tune up the OS.... and.. is BIG

Unfortunately for Blackberry, they're now known as being the platform no one uses anymore...

By whom exactly? There is unequivocally no evidence to support this ridiculous statement.

EDIT: I'm doing no one any good by just echoing empty statements, but I don't have the time to find the relevant articles right now. I'd advise you to read up on the RIM numbers in various high-volume markets (India, Brazil for example). BB phones sell like hot cakes, mainly because of BBM and email. A basic BB can be had for $150, unlocked, and it looks and feels premium. Furthermore, if you'll look up news on the 2011 UK riots, most of them used BBM as the organising platform. Not that it says anything good about BBM users, that last, but it goes to show that BB is still popular in certain markets and among certain circles.

Finally, BB, because of BBM, is still the handset of choice among even affluent Indian youth. Go to the nightclubs in Mumbai or New Delhi, and all the girls have BBs. I have a cousin who's gone through 4 BBs in the last 5 years, only because all his friends are on the platform. Another friend just dropped $550 on a new BB, again because all her friends are on BBM. Never underestimate the influence that peoples' friends' choices have on purchases.

By whom exactly? There is unequivocally no evidence to support this ridiculous statement.

EDIT: I'm doing no one any good by just echoing empty statements, but I don't have the time to find the relevant articles right now. I'd advise you to read up on the RIM numbers in various high-volume markets (India, Brazil for example). BB phones sell like hot cakes, mainly because of BBM and email. A basic BB can be had for $150, unlocked, and it looks and feels premium. Furthermore, if you'll look up news on the 2011 UK riots, most of them used BBM as the organising platform. Not that it says anything good about BBM users, that last, but it goes to show that BB is still popular in certain markets and among certain circles.

Finally, BB, because of BBM, is still the handset of choice among even affluent Indian youth. Go to the nightclubs in Mumbai or New Delhi, and all the girls have BBs. I have a cousin who's gone through 4 BBs in the last 5 years, only because all his friends are on the platform. Another friend just dropped $550 on a new BB, again because all her friends are on BBM. Never underestimate the influence that peoples' friends' choices have on purchases.

Well, if one is going to look at stats, BB has been bleeding for years. While WP market share is small, it is growing.
I don't know if BB10 will be its savior. In Canada here they released some rumored pricing, and it was quite high. Might be making the same mistake they did with their playbook.

I don't have any hate for BB, I think their phone looks great. But I don't see them gaining the #3 spot. Many people have lost faith in that brand. Sure, there will always be a RIM devotion, but the general public, as well as a growing segment of the business population is choosing other platforms.

By whom exactly? There is unequivocally no evidence to support this ridiculous statement.

EDIT: I'm doing no one any good by just echoing empty statements, but I don't have the time to find the relevant articles right now. I'd advise you to read up on the RIM numbers in various high-volume markets (India, Brazil for example). BB phones sell like hot cakes, mainly because of BBM and email. A basic BB can be had for $150, unlocked, and it looks and feels premium. Furthermore, if you'll look up news on the 2011 UK riots, most of them used BBM as the organising platform. Not that it says anything good about BBM users, that last, but it goes to show that BB is still popular in certain markets and among certain circles.

Finally, BB, because of BBM, is still the handset of choice among even affluent Indian youth. Go to the nightclubs in Mumbai or New Delhi, and all the girls have BBs. I have a cousin who's gone through 4 BBs in the last 5 years, only because all his friends are on the platform. Another friend just dropped $550 on a new BB, again because all her friends are on BBM. Never underestimate the influence that peoples' friends' choices have on purchases.

I was half expecting this reply (before the edit). . . thanks for playing along.

On a serious note though, you've got to be kidding me if you're questioning the doubt over BB's future among tech news sites and bloggers. I've seen numerous comments from people claiming no one using BB anymore. Of course this isn't accurate, but it's pretty indicative of their dwindling market share.

I see BB fans are have a lot of hopes for a company that was once at the top of the class but declined so quickly because of their failure to adapt and innovate along with other companies. Could RIM retain 3rd spot in North America? Sure why not, but from what I have seen in Europe and East Asia Blackberries are no longer considered the must have thing.

I was half expecting this reply (before the edit). . . thanks for playing along.

On a serious note though, you've got to be kidding me if you're questioning the doubt over BB's future among tech news sites and bloggers. I've seen numerous comments from people claiming no one using BB anymore. Of course this isn't accurate, but it's pretty indicative of their dwindling market share.

Agreed, their market share is dwindling but I think they're still in the 3rd or 4th place (Nokia's S40 software on the Asha series is almost, but not quite a smartphone. If you ignore it, BB is in 3rd). And while I'd love to see WP gain marketshare and improved functionality, assumptions that "BB is dead, no need to worry about it" are risky, and I hope the people at MSFT aren't making them. It's still considered to be the only truly secure mobile platform by most security engineers I know, so that's a factor as well. If they manage to blend attractiveness to consumers along with the features that made them king of the corporate world, they'll be back in the game.

I'd love it if RIM took market share from Android - but it'll likely fight for the scraps with Windows phone, leaving two losers. For that reason I just want one of them to die. Microsoft is going to be like a cockroach in mobile ... just never die. I think blackberry will become big or become history. 2 years ago Nokia had more smartphone customers than anyone else by far. Now they are like #6. Any argument about their 79 million or so users is really not compelling. I think Blackberry have more chance of converting their users to BB10 than Nokia did.

One thing I can say is that the media will exacerbate the rise or fall of RIM. At this stage I think they are happy to go either way, but will pile on if things go bad. Just my two cents.

Big time developers such as MLB and NHL have already committed to making BB 10 apps. MLB had a terribly stripped version of At Bat for WP7 and hasn't said anything about this coming season. The NHL GameCenter is supported on Android and iOS and they've committed to BB 10. Why is it that these companies are committing to an OS that isn't even released and not Windows Phone? I am a huge WP fan and figured the apps that I wanted would come, but it appears that they still don't have enough clout. This is definitely a big blow to WPs ecosystem.

Big time developers such as MLB and NHL have already committed to making BB 10 apps. MLB had a terribly stripped version of At Bat for WP7 and hasn't said anything about this coming season. The NHL GameCenter is supported on Android and iOS and they've committed to BB 10. Why is it that these companies are committing to an OS that isn't even released and not Windows Phone? I am a huge WP fan and figured the apps that I wanted would come, but it appears that they still don't have enough clout. This is definitely a big blow to WPs ecosystem.

I agree completely. I saw MLB tweet today about their upcoming blackberry app and it was the first time I legitimately lost faith in WP. Microsoft better get their crap together